Unanswered
by Not2BForgotten
Summary: Tony is kidnapped. His abductor is aggressive and violent leaving everyone scrambling and Tony struggling just to hang onto his life.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: finished up another unfinished fic so here it is! Amazing the things one internet outage can accomplish!**

Chapter 1

Tony yawned. Five days, one hour of sleep for each, three serial killers, one group, all in jail. It had been a win for the team but boy was he dead on his feet. Thai food and a long nap. They called his name like a seductive whisper. Gibbs had mercifully given him permission to leave. The man wasn't a growling bear tonight. Tonight he was a happy bear. Tomorrow would be another story. It always was because there was always some criminal on his bad side. He grabbed his wallet and fished through it pleased to see he had fifty bucks in there. Plenty for Thai food, and maybe a movie too if he just had the energy to get there. He yawned grabbing his jacket, visiting the head, taking a moment to scowl at the dark circles under his eyes and overall worn out appearance and then he was out and headed to freedom.

Or so he thought.

It was cold outside, 20 degrees F. to be exact, and he was shivering immediately. He hated the cold. His feet were dragging he was so tired, which was the only thing preventing him from sprinting to the soon to be warmth of his car. The drive to the Thai restaurant was quick and the food was brought to him, promptly given the late hour, just before closing time and that he was the only customer. In exhaustion he never felt the eyes on him or heard the approach of danger. He had just put his several heavy bags of food in the passenger seat and buckled them in for safety, the loss of Thai food to a quick brake or swerve was the worst tragedy, when pain exploded through his lower back.

DiNozzo crumpled to the pavement instantly with a cry of pain his head bouncing off the hard surface stars dancing before his eyes. Through the buzz in his head he heard what sounded like distant laughing. He tried to right himself feebly his back spasming from the effort making him gasp. The laughter stopped and without any more warning a hail storm of hard blows crashed down on him, mostly his back. He struggled to move out of their path but he was too slow. Everything was rushing around him, his body on fire with pain. He moved to crawl to the protection of under his car when a final blow landed against the back of his head smashing his forehead down to the pavement and everything went black.

His attacker stood over his unconscious battered victim for a moment longer admiring his work before he set down the bat and pulled out a roll of duct tape and a handkerchief. He stuffed the square of cloth in DiNozzo's mouth then put a double layer of duct tape over his lips. The first layer short the second almost the length of his jaw. Then he rolled him onto his back and cuffed his arms behind him making sure the cuffs were as tight as they could be, ensuring they would be painful but not enough to kill the limbs from lack of circulation…..that would be for later, maybe. He did the same to Tony's ankles snapped a few photos and then relieved the fallen agent of his gun, it's holster, his belt, wallet, keys, and shiny badge identifying him as a Federal Agent. He arranged all the objects into a sick taunting little smiley face on the hood of Tony's car. He couldn't help but laugh before he threw the agent into the trunk of his own car.

This was going to be splendid.

**NCIS…THE NEXT MORNING….**

Gibbs was irritated. He downed a large gulp of his coffee, fresh from his very own coffee dealer, and scowled as he looked at DiNozzo's empty desk. He was an hour late. Even for Tony that was unusually late. He'd never gone beyond half an hour….till now. He'd contemplated leniency given how exhausted and worn down his senior agent had been when he was about twenty minutes late but then the case had come in and Tony hadn't. Kate had been on time. Ducky had been on time. Abby he didn't know because she was the favored child. He never checked. He never needed to check. Tony was the 'problem child' and was late again. He called DiNozzo's cell phone. It went to voicemail.

"DiNozzo! If you're sleeping or chasing some hot body I swear I'll work you so hard you won't have time to _piss_ for the next MONTH!" he hung up and dropped his phone to the desk aggravated. Kate gave him a wary glance then hurried back to her work before he could comment on her pause.

An hour later Kate had retreated to the protective custody of Ducky's autopsy with her laptop and DiNozzo was still unseen or heard from leaving Gibbs in a deadly mood. He had called the home phone the cell phone and every other phone connected to DiNozzo in even the slightest way too many times to count. He came to Abby bearing a Caff Pow and a demand to track Tony's cell phone. It hardly took her a moment before she had him.

"He's in the parking lot of Jasmin's Thai Food. Must be on his way. I know you want to kill him Gibbs but I like him so just severely maim him ok?" Abby pleaded for Tony with a silly grin. Gibbs would have smirked if his mood were not so sour as he stormed to the parking lot. The drive to the restaurant was faster than the speed of light.

His gut wrenched painfully when he found it, blood on the ground by the passenger door, wallet, gun, holster, belt, badge and car keys arranged in a smiley face as some form of demented taunt. Fury flashed through him brighter and more powerful than lightning. He was about to call Kate and pull her off the other case when he remembered the details. The children of marine's being kidnapped and murdered. Four so far. He couldn't let that go. He called Patchi and put him in on it with Kate instead.

He would find DiNozzo personally.

**UNKNOWN PLACE. UNKNOWN TIME…**

The world started out fuzzy, blurred and incoherent. He couldn't bring thought into focus. His head pounded and felt like it was cracking in half. He was confused. Where was he now? The last thing he'd remembered was his stomach gurgling in anticipation of hot tasty Thai food and then nothing. He blinked sluggishly trying to clear his vision but the lines remained blurred in the dim light. He tried to swallow his throat parched but there was something soft stuffed into his mouth filling it to the brim. He couldn't even move his tongue. Something pulled at his skin around his mouth and face. His brow furrowed trying to bring the cause into clarity. It took him far longer than it should have to deduce there was tape over his mouth; A lot of tape. He didn't know how much time passed as he laid there groggily waiting for the fog to lift before he tried to sit up only to cry out in pain as his forehead struck something above him, hard, and his back locked up in a fierce spasm that took his breath away.

He faded out again. Not quite unconscious but very oblivious of the world around him as pain washed over him and the air in the trunk he was thrown into became dangerously thin. He eyes were closed nearly unconscious when the car stopped and the trunk was popped open. His captor grinned maliciously down at him for a moment before hauling him out of the car and dragged him across the ground by his shirt collar, and up a few steps towards a cabin in the middle of nowhere. The moans Tony elicited as rocks and step edges raked across his battered back pulling him a little closer to consciousness gave him a temporary high. They entered a room that was bare except for a chair in the center. He pulled the cuffs of his victim's wrists and ankles getting another small high at the sight of the red marks and small bruises they had left. After a small effort he had DiNozzo in the chair and cuffed to it making the restraints tighter than before. Tony moaned from the discomfort.

He felt stiff and his back was hurting like hell. He felt lightheaded yet his head was too heavy to lift at the same time. He couldn't connect the pieces of his memory. It went from Thai food straight to waking up to this pain and disorientation. He breathed slow and shallow through his nose afraid to ignite the fire in his back again. He peeled his eyes open sluggishly then snapped them shut with a groan as the room spun around him. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he heard someone chuckle. He tried to swallow but there was still something in his mouth, sapping away all his saliva so that his throat burned for moisture.

"So, you're finally awake" a strange male voice sneered at him. Tony forced himself to open his eyes again, relieved that the room wasn't spinning anymore and though it took him a moment, focused on the man leaning against a wall in front of him. He squirmed a little and hissed as his wrists lanced with pain from the far too tight cuffs. The man laughed again. Tony looked at his surrounding now trying to get oriented unsure how long he'd been like this. He didn't like the wood bat that was sitting ominously in the corner, or the brass knuckles lying innocently next to it, and he definitely didn't like the shotgun among the collection of weapons.

"Well I see my toys have caught your attention. Any preference what we start with first Agent DiNozzo?" the man taunted again. Tony's jaw worked as if he were trying to answer but the cloth stuffed in his mouth and the duct tape prevented any form of communication.

"Well I suppose your preference doesn't really matter. I think we'll start simple," he chirped cheerily and picked up the knuckles slipping them over his fingers, "I take great pleasure in the art of escalation" Tony had no chance to brace himself as the knuckles slammed into him over and over. His chest, stomach, face, shoulders, there was no restraint as the man released his full fury.

Tony gritted his teeth hard on the cotton in his mouth and try to bear the beating silently. He kept telling himself to be like Gibbs. Don't show the pain. Don't give them the satisfaction. Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he didn't. The brass knuckles racked up the pain every fierce blow caused by a hundred fold compared to bare knuckles. Time stretched, bent, and finally broke. He couldn't sense any form of time. There was only pain and the passage of cruel strikes against his body. By the time it was over he was gasping for air desperately, not getting enough, unable to even hold his head up as he curled in on himself as far as the restraints would allow. He was solely focused on the sensation of pain overwhelming him and the feel of blood that trickled from his wrists to drip off his fingertips.

He never saw the camera flashes as he fell into sweet oblivion.

**NCIS….A FEW HOURS AFTER FINIDNG TONY'S CAR…**

McGee followed Gibbs intimidated and worried at the same time. Tony missing. Blood by his car. Whoever did this was bold. There was Tony's stuff arranged on the hood of his car to start with as an indication. He wanted to taunt them and he was doing a good job. McGee had never been more scared of Agent Gibbs then he was now. He was sure the man was going to pull out his gun and shoot everyone, regardless of reason. Everyone worked quickly and efficiently. They had to or Gibbs would absolutely shoot them.

One of his own was missing and he was going to get him back, alive. There was no question in his mind. He wasn't going to lose Tony. He strutted around barking orders and finding evidence having McGee bag everything. In other circumstances he would have been proud of the new agent's endurance and calm under such a high stress situation but he was too focused on being the main cause of stress and hunting down his senior agent. The scene was bagged, tagged, sketched and photographed in under an hour. They were interviewing local business owners but nobody saw or heard anything. There were a good deal of prints and Gibbs silently hoped that some of them weren't Tony's.

When they got back to the office everyone was tense. Ducky inquired twice about their progress or if there was word on DiNozzo's condition/whereabouts but Gibbs didn't have anything for him. Abby was working in overdrive. Kate had made progress on the other case but clearly wasn't working the case she wanted anymore. He wanted her working to find DiNozzo too but someone had to find the child killer and he didn't think McGee was near ready to handle a case like that on his own. Kate could for the most part, and Patchi was working with her. They'd do fine.

Two hours after they got back to NCIS the letter came. It was simple and to the point. A Polaroid with DiNozzo unconscious tied up like an animal and blood on his neck originating from somewhere on the back of his head but otherwise he appeared to be ok. There was a single inscription.

_Are you worried yet?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, some great responses for a story that's unfinished for so long, I'm sure I've changed the plot from what was originally intended but as long as you enjoy! And don't worry it is finished already so the only delay will be me uploading it which isn't much!**

Chapter 2

Tony struggled to swallow but he couldn't. He wanted some water so badly he was tempted to cry. He hadn't known thirst like this ever before. He wiggled his jaw around trying to loosen the glue holding the duct tape to his skin but he had no way of judging if it was even working. He felt like he was going to choke on the cloth in his mouth and it was getting harder to keep the sense of panic in its little cage. He squirmed in his chair gasping in pain as all the bruises awoke in a flash. He could feel blood running down his hands again though he could barely feel them. It wasn't good he knew that for sure. His captor had the cuffs so tight that there was hardly any circulation at all. He wasn't sure whether it was enough to keep the limbs alive or not. Not knowing scared him. Suddenly a hand buried into his hair and yanked his head backwards so far and hard he heard a crack and fire lanced through it forcing a moan.

"Finally awake. I knew you couldn't be so weak as to never wake so soon after such a simple beating" the man taunted staring DiNozzo down from his hovering position. Tony glared as best he could through the pain. The man chuckled.

"You are a feisty one. It will be much fun making you scream" he slammed a fist against Tony's cheek bone and ripped off both strips of duct tape leaving him dazed for a moment. Tony blinked a few times and shook his head trying to shake away the fog growing in his vision.

When his vision cleared again he saw the man with a menacing sneer on his face holding a long belt with a wickedly large belt buckle on the end. Tony couldn't help but gulp with anticipation and yet feel so elated at the same time as he spit out the rag and relished to be able to breathe freely again. The man chuckled and DiNozzo felt a surge of anger that he almost couldn't hold back. He didn't want to do anything to antagonize this man….yet. He was counting down the time until he could throw a few blows of his own and escape. The first lash was exactly how he expected it to be, painful, very painful. He didn't make a sound. He didn't want to give this man the satisfaction. _That_ antagonized his captor. He landed two hard blows, one on the shoulder one on the stomach but all Tony did was suck in a sharp breath silently. His head was yanked backwards again causing a spasm through the muscles in his neck a few hairs pulling from his scalp in the tight grip.

"I _will_ make you scream" the man whispered in his ear.

"Fat chance a wimpy man like you ever could" Tony hissed back his restraint slipping momentarily. The blows after that came without monologue or mercy. They were hard and fast. Everything blurred around Tony as his eyes begged to water and his gut wrenched as agony shot through him like shrapnel filled grenades against his body. There was a buzzing in his ears and the need for his eyes to water faded as a fog began to fill his vision. The buckle struck a cluster of welts all packed together cause him to grunt and couldn't suck in a breath for a moment, nearly crying out at the pain that surged through him. Blood dripping down his back made him squirm. He gave in a little and shivered. It didn't help. He realized belatedly that the assault had stopped. DiNozzo jumped startled at the bright flashes of light and groaned at the pain the movement shot through him. The man sauntered out of the room wave-drying a few Polaroids whistling to himself. He hoped Gibbs would come soon. He tried to stay awake, he really did, but…he was just so tired.

**NCIS…**

Gibbs poured over what evidence they had trying to force some bit of knowledge from the facts that could lead them to Tony. An hour after the first picture arrived a second was received. Tony's condition was considerably worse and it made Gibbs' gut twist with worry, though he didn't show it. It looked like DiNozzo's nose was broken, a rather large black eye, hunched over clearly favoring ribs, deep dark bruised all over his face and arms and they were sure there was even more hidden under his clothes. He appeared to be barely conscious in the photo. His eyes mere slits and what they could see seemed hazy and unfocused. This guy was moving fast and was violently aggressive with a need to taunt them. Show off. He didn't want to bring this photo to Abby for further examination. She was vibrating from caffeine and fretting with worry already but he had to do it. There may be a clue inside the photo that could rescue Tony.

When she saw it she cried for a few minutes. He hugged her and petted her head for a moment then redirected her back to the job. He wanted to hide it from her, not force her to look at it more closely. He couldn't be more proud as she took a big gulp of her caff pow, dried her eyes and plunged into the Polaroid with all her skills. It was only a matter of time before this guy made a mistake and Gibbs wouldn't be at all surprised if Abbey was the one to find it. He just hoped it didn't take much longer. At this pace of abuse he wasn't sure how long DiNozzo could last.

**BACK WITH DINOZZO…UNKNOWN TIME…..**

Tony gritted his teeth to bite back the pain as he continued to grip the wrung his hands were cuffed to and wiggle it ever so slowly back and forth. He didn't know whether it had always been loose or if that was a result of the ferocity of his beatings. He couldn't open his right eye at all and he was sure he had broken ribs, badly bruised at least, and had to keep his breathing slow and shallow to reduce the pain. His hands were nearly numb; had been for as long as he could remember since he'd been kidnapped. He was really getting scared about losing them. Were they getting enough blood? Were they dying? He didn't know and he had to change that. The wood chair wrung started to squeak. That delighted and worried Tony. It was nearly free. It was loud. What if his kidnapper heard it? The wood cracked and his hands slipped free of the chair at last. DiNozzo slipped off the chair to his knees and twisted around so he could see his feet and sighed. He had to do it all over again to free his feet.

He didn't start. He was so tired. His head pounded his hands were numb yet ached deeply at the same time. He felt like he was going to throw up. There was a haze filling into his vision making so hard to see. He wanted to sleep all of a sudden. He was so tired. He made himself move. He forced his body to turn so he could start weakening the chair wrung his to which his ankle cuffs were attached. _Be like Gibbs. Be like Gibbs. Be like Gibbs._ It was the mental chat he used to keep him moving. Gibbs was a marine and would save himself. So he would be the same. Or at least he'd try. Time passed slowly. He worked methodically not letting himself stop to rest because if he stopped he wouldn't move again. If only he could have some food. Maybe, just maybe then he would feel a little better.

He scrunched his eyes shut trying to push back the headache and hunger while he worked. Tony never heard the door open or even knew he wasn't alone until pain exploded through the side of his skull and the blurred image of a gun butt retreated filled his sight a second later. The man was screaming angrily. Tony couldn't discern a single word as his attacker gripped him by the throat and lifted him off the floor, completely, then threw him across the room. The chair hit the wall first and shattered followed by DiNozzo. He cried out in agony as something penetrated his hip tearing flesh and striking bone mercilessly. His captor gave a hearty laugh then kicked him in his shoulder so that he rolled hitting the wall this time and his impaled hip faced the ceiling and grabbed the wood twisting it about cruelly. Tony screamed and then there was nothing.

**NCIS…..THE SECOND DAY…..**

Ducky looked at the team without them knowing. Kate was still working the marine child murder case but you could see from the way she glanced at everyone else and looked like she were fretting that she was chomping at the bit to rejoin the team looking for Tony. His chances were steadily growing slimmer as the hours flew. Ducky knew that Gibbs would find him. Gibbs always found his guy. The question was whether it would be in time to find him alive. Whoever they were working with had known how not to leave pertinent evidence and was staying off the radar in every way except the taunting photos which never had clues leading back to him. They were all tired from trying to force the case to progress. Then Gibb's cell rang and they all jumped at the sound.

"Gibbs"

"You know, I bet your little DiNozzo is feeling really hungry by now." the male voice sneered into Jethro's ear. Gibb's growled audibly.

"I _will_ get my agent back and when I do I _will_ put a bullet in your forehead" he hissed.

"Ah Special Agent Gibbs, always one to be aggressive. Never afraid to shoot first and then find out who was _really _innocent afterwards." the man gave a tight angry sounding laugh.

"I don't need to _find out_ that you're guilty. I already know you're a dirt bag." Gibbs waved Abby down having rushed to her lab the moment he'd answered.

"You know, you haven't even bothered to ask why. Why I am doing this all" the man sounded a little distressed like he'd been holding his breath in anticipation of Gibbs asking him why. Jethro looked at Abby. Not yet. She needed more time.

"I don't need a reason. Let me speak to my agent." Gibbs' voice was tight.

"As you can see, he's in no condition to speak" the line went dead and for a moment left Gibb's confused and worried. Then his phone gave that chime of having received something and after a little investigation he found the photo.

"McGee!" second later the photo was on the plasma for close examination. It was hideous. Tony was unconscious with the stain of tears down his cheeks, blood matted to his body which was swollen and discolored horribly with bruising. What made their gut wrench with fear for his life was the large, thick chunk of wood protruding from his right hip. Abby gave a small stifled cry. Gibbs grabbed her by the shoulders, blocking her view of the photo for a moment and looked her hard in the eye.

"Tell me the _facts_ in the photo Abby" her lower lip quivered slightly but she nodded and went to her computer and started working. Gibbs and McGee watched silently as areas of the photo zoomed in and out as she explained what she saw in the photo. Other than Tony.

"There are wood floors with a wall that looks painted or papered so they're in a residential home"

"The lighting is good and unnatural, the house isn't in the process of being built or abandon. It has electricity"

"That's good Abby, what else?" Gibbs encouraged.

"They're still in the state Gibbs but that's as far as I got on the phone trace…and Gibbs, you have to get Tony soon….that wood chunk is…"she paused and swallowed the emotion back" about three inches in diameter."

"I know Abby, I know, good work" Jethro stormed away, McGee struggling to keep up, unable to get the image of that bloody, jagged wood impaling Tony out of his head.

Their time was almost up.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Judging by your reviews you are all going to hate me for this last chapter. I don't apologize though, all's fair in love and fanfiction, lol. It's very strange going back to stories that have sat untouched and unfinished for months and in some cases years and completing them. Keep your eyes out for my next one I'm finishing, it's a Stargate Atlantis featuring Lorne!**

Chapter 3

Tony woke to burning. His hip, damn it burned. He couldn't help but moan from the agony. He squirmed trying to escape the fire scouring through his hip and he choked on his own breath as the pain in his entire body blindsided him. His whole body shook with shock and he could hardly breathe. The world swirled around him and bile rose up in his throat as the pain crashed over him in wave after wave slowly easing like the receding tide. When he could finally breathe as normally as his broken ribs would allow again he opened his eyes and blinked sluggishly. Everything was blurry and faded. He just stared ahead for a long time exhausted trying to ignore his hip.

The fog in his brain lifted a bit more and he started to think about ways to save himself. None seemed possible with the weariness he felt. He had to try though his mind told him. He couldn't just lay here and wait for Gibbs. He had to give his boss a hand. Hands. He had to have his hands. It was like a homing beacon and directed him on what to do next. His tired mind decided to get his hands from behind his back in front of him. He hadn't done this maneuver in years. Wasn't sure he could do it now. The effort it took for him to roll into a ball was horrendous and he whited out from pain twice. The room was spinning again when he came to his first and biggest problem the chunk of wood in his hip. He had to get his arm around it but it was awfully long and his arms were restricted in movement. Tony bit down on his lip, stretched his arm so that I could just barely slip over the top, his shoulder pulling at a painfully unnatural angle, and the wood biting deep into the crook of his arm as he failed to get totally clear of it as it remained immobile in his hip.

Tears streaked down his cheeks as all the nerves in his hip jumped and twitched excruciatingly and the muscles in his leg spasm. He lay there shaking for what felt like hours incapable of intentional movement as he rode out the waves of pain. When he began again he felt like he was barely hanging onto life he was so exhausted. Sweat gleaned on his skin in large beads and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth feeling like sandpaper from thirst. His heart leapt with excitement as he felt the rubber of his shoes against his forearms. _Just a little farther just a little farther just a little farther! _The chant seemed to give him the last bits of energy it took to get his arms over the toes of his shoes, his whole body sagging back to a more natural position as he passed out from exhaustion and pain.

Reality filtered back to him some unknown time later slowly. The sensation of being cold was first, then an overall ache, the sense of fear and being alone which were quickly followed by the ache turning into real, sharp pain. He struggled to form memory of what happened to him. Why he hurt bad but he could only catch snatches of images. Brass knuckles, fists, flying followed by piercing shattering pain in his hip, it was all jumbled together. He focused on breathing. It was difficult to do and hurt. He couldn't do more than a short shallow breath. He could feel a few of his ribs grinding together with each inhale. After a while he was able to start thinking again. His hands were in front of him now but in a cruel twist of fate his vision was too blurry to see if they were ok or not. He could see fuzzy shapes, determine the size of things, but not the condition. He realized sluggishly that the broken wood of the chair was still around him and that several of the pieces were rather large. Then he heard the cheerful whistle of his assailant and the plan was made before he even realized he was contemplating anything. He didn't think it through. He didn't go beyond what it took to get to his knees, then his feet, right leg totally limp and unable to bear the slightest weight, and pick up a large piece of wood.

The man had barely opened the door when Tony gave a shaky, faltering lunge and slammed his little wood shard down on the man's head. The blow certainly startled him and momentarily stunned him but it took him a mere second to recover. DiNozzo swung his weapon back up as hard as his shaking arms could manage catching his chin, his head snapping back and then an elbow to the man's stomach. That was all he could do. He collapsed weakly. He couldn't breathe. His chest heaved his ribs screamed and his attacker bellowed with rage. The first kicked took him by surprise he was so detached from the world around him and there was no recovering. The kicks blended together into a long stream of pain. He was suffocating, the world spinning around him with dark spots dancing and parading before his eyes their tempo and power increasing with every sharp kick that hit his chest. The _only _place the kicks landed. Tony's conscious thought shrank to one little phrase as the last of his strength edged him to oblivion.

He was dead for sure this time.

And then he wasn't.

He wasn't sure why he was waking up. He couldn't believe it either. More importantly he didn't _want_ to wake up. Not to this kind of pain. He couldn't breathe through it, couldn't live through it. He had to escape. He didn't know about the tears from sheer agony rolling down his face or the soft little moans that escaped his lips like a steady roll of thunder. Time had no meaning again. It felt like he'd been here months already. Months of pain and fear and he couldn't get away from it. He wasn't sure when he'd opened his eyes but he knew the dim light was like a piercing laser to his corneas. Everything hurt. He opened them again. And there it was, right in front of him if he just had the strength to grab it. A cell phone! His captor must have dropped it unknowingly during the fight. There was a riot of pain rewarded moments later by the cool smooth touch of plastic against his almost numb fingertips. His movement was clumsy and he dropped the phone twice before he was able to get it flipped open. The glow that emanated from it hurt his eyes so he closed them dialing the number shakily by touch alone.

"Gibbs" the voice was so familiar yet so far away. Tony didn't really hear the answer.

"Hello?" Gibbs tried again. He could hear heavy breathing on the other end of the line. The phone number was one he didn't recognize.

"Boss" Tony coughed harshly from the single whispered word then groaned in the agony it caused.

"Tony! Tony where are you? Keep talking to me Tony" Gibbs barked urgently gut wrenching at the sound of that weak painful groan.

"Can't…b-breathe…." DiNozzo screwed his eyes shut tighter and just tried to _breathe_. He'd never felt so much pain before. There must be a herd of elephants on his chest. Gibbs was talking again but he couldn't really hear. He was too far away.

"Tony! DiNozzo! Answer me!" Gibbs barked.

"Boss….where?" Can't focus, can't think, everything starts to blur together again. Tony tried to piece together what was going on but the memories were slipping away again like sand through his fingers.

"I'm coming DiNozzo. I'm coming to get you just hang in there. Don't hang up the phone Tony" Gibbs held his breath waiting for a response. He could just barely hear Tony's labored breathing.

"Kay….Boss" more coughing followed by footsteps approaching. What Gibbs heard next made his heart hammer with fear for his agent.

"You little wretch! How'd you get my phone!" Gibbs couldn't see that Tony's only response was to tighten his grip on the phone. It was his way out of this and he wasn't letting go of it. There was the bone crunching thump and the crisp clear sound of Tony giving a scream broke through the speaker straight to Gibbs. He nearly broke his phone from the abrupt tightening of his grip.

"Let go!" the man hollered again. Another bone crunching thud andTony screamed. Gibbs growled.

"Hang on Tony, just hang on" he encouraged through the phone knowing neither man would actually hear. Three more sickening thuds and then a clatter of the phone being dropped and the line went dead as Gibbs raced to Tony's location. Good news at last!

For Tony however things weren't so good at the moment. The man wasn't just mad, he was furious. Crushing his victim's hand to get him to drop the phone wasn't enough. He had DiNozzo slammed against the wall struggling feebly getting high off the sound of his every rasping attempt to breathe the shotgun bearing down mercilessly on his neck. He held him to the wall until the moment his eyes start to roll back into his head then let him drop boneless to the floor and kick him hard in the stomach. Tony coughed harshly and began dry heave for his stomach had nothing to give. The laughter of his attacker rang through his ears tauntingly as he hoisted him up again making him suffocate. If he only had the strength…

**ON ROUTE…..**

Gibb's knuckles were a stark white against the grey of the steering wheel. Abby's voice a constant buzz in his ear keeping him appraised of what she knew. The call was disconnected. He was just fifteen minutes from the location. A location that should take him forty five minutes to get to was now going to take him just under thirty minutes. McGee and Kate, now finished with her case, were barely staying in their seats even with their belts tight as they could get them. They had to get there _now!_

The house was small and isolated by the looks as they sped towards it at last having it in their sights. Gibbs was out and running gun drawn before the car had even stopped with Kate and McGee close behind. They burst into the house like a hurricane on the coast shouting out each room being clear. Gibbs was the one to find the room where Tony had been with the cell phone and remnants of chair left behind splashed with blood.

"Clear! They're not here" he yelled angrily. Tires were screeching abruptly with the smell of burning rubber and Gibbs tore his way outside to see a car with two passengers speeding away.

"No way in hell" he growled to himself jumping in his own car and the chase was on. The car ahead screeched around a corner turning right and Gibbs kept pace. They jerked around a left turn then another left leaving nothing but a straight away for several miles. Jethro knew he had them now. He was gaining rapidly and would be able to force the car to stop. It was only a matter of time. Suddenly the passenger door of the car whipped open and a body flew out of the car hitting the pavement hard and rolling about fifteen feet then lay lifelessly still. Gibbs screeched to a stop leaping from the car before it truly stopped. A trail of blood and skin was left on the pavement, the wood chunk snapped off and rolling to the side of the road as Gibbs charged towards Tony. He was sprawled and quivering with tears rolling down his cheeks but remained otherwise motionless.

"Shit Tony" He dropped down and scooped him up panicked by the gurgling choke. Blood spilled from his mouth as Gibbs propped him mostly up right against his chest and cried out weakly. A van blurred past them and suddenly Ducky was there. He took one look then dug through his van supplies and rushed back slipping the oxygen mask onto Tony. He flinched and wriggled trying to escape with a whimper but the mask was held firmly.

"Easy my dear boy this will help" he held on a moment more watching the fight, and life, drain a bit from his glazed eyes before turning to the cuffs at his hands, ankles already freed by his captor. One hand was curled in on itself and swollen to the size of a small melon. "Let's get these of you" Tony waivered from writhing and moaning in pain with tears streaming down his face to staring lifelessly ahead with barely the energy to breath as Ducky fought to stabilize him in the minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive.

Life shifted to fast forward after that. Tony and Gibbs whizzed to the hospital while Ducky and the rest of the team cleaned up the crime scene. Tony flat-lined twice on the way but was brought back with a hard struggle and then he really was gone. The doctors rushed him behind those double doors and that was it. He was left waiting not noticing as he waited for nearly a day. Now he stood in the doorway just staring at Tony. He was on a ventilator, most of his body was bandaged, his hand was splinted until he had the strength to survive the surgery to repair it, and his hip was covered in gauze while the wound drained. The doctors were careful not to discuss his prognosis. Gibbs already knew though. He knew Tony would keep fighting and survive. This wasn't that one moment when everything fell apart. It was just cracked and battered.

"Boss we found him. He wrecked the car about three miles up the road and died on route to the hospital" McGee whispered making it a point not to look at Tony.

"Go home McGee" he rasped and drank deeply from a cup of coffee.

"Boss?"

"Just go home McGee, tell Kate to go home too" he didn't turn to look at his agent.

"Yes Boss" Silence filled the room as the minutes passed. He felt old today.

"Sorry Tony, no answers, no justice"


End file.
